Buccaneers Players With The Biggest Opportunities At Steelers Joint Practice

On Thursday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be holding a joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers. These are two well run organizations who have playoff expectations for themselves this season. It’s an opportunity to get some good work in against a good opponent. 

In terms of warm ups for the regular season, this will be ideal. Starters will be challenged and the depth guys have a chance to show their stuff against a talented opponent. Here’s my Buccaneers players with the biggest opportunities at Steelers joint practice.

Speed Kills

The Steelers have some very fast wide receivers. From DK Metcalf to Calvin Austin and even former Buccaneers and Super Bowl champions Scotty Miller, all of these guys have sub 4.4 speed. This means they are all very very fast.

Fortunately the Bucs top corners are also very fast. It will allow guys like Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean to stretch their legs and run with similar athletes. They won’t see a faster group of wide receivers this year.

Even more importantly, I want to see the depth guys try to keep up. Can Kindel Vildor or Bryce Hall hold up against this type of speed? It will be a good opportunity for these guys, particularly the guys fighting for a spot on the depth chart, to show what they can do. 

This will also test the safeties on the roster. JJ Roberts, Shilo Sanders and even Tykee Smith need to show off their range and angles of pursuit. This Steelers team has plenty of deep threats to play center field against. 

Test For The Trenches

The strength of this Steelers team is the defensive line. Between four time All Pro Cam Heyward, four time All Pro TJ Watt, first round pick Derrick Harmon and others, this is one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Blocking this group will be no easy task. 

It will be a perfect opportunity for a talented, but young Buccaneers offensive line. Center Graham Barton is going into his second NFL season after playing left tackle in college. The same is true for right guard Cody Mauch who is going into his third year. These are still ascending players who need reps against strong competition. 

This will also be a good opportunity to see who of the depth players can hold their own. Quality reps against these types of players should go a long way in securing a roster spot. I’ll be monitoring the likes of Benjamin Chukwuma, Jake Majors, Charlie Heck and Sua Opeta very closely.

A Chance For WRs To Seperate

As good as this Steelers defensive line is, their secondary leaves something to be desired. Their starting cornerbacks are Darius Slay (34 years old) and Jalen Ramsey (30 years old). And while these are respected veterans, their best days are behind them. 

The Bucs’ abundance of talent at wide receiver should be able to find space to work this week. Specifically the lower tier wide receivers will have a chance to stand out. With the top for receiver jobs locked up, there are still two openings up for grabs. 

Guys like Tez Johnson, Ryan Miller and Trey Palmer need to have good days. Even with the Steelers investing in a young cornerback like Joey Porter Jr, this is a favorable matchup for the Bucs young pass catchers. They have to go out and earn their place on this roster.